A recent legal action filed by two Missouri residents contending the sports betting initiative was approved illegally has been dismissed by a Cole County Circuit Court judge, which means the question will remain on November’s ballot.
The Count Stands
Just when it appeared the sports betting initiative would appear on November’s ballot, a curveball was thrown by two Missouri residents who filed a lawsuit contending the Secretary of State’s office erred when they used 2020 districting boundaries instead of the new lines drawn in 2022. The lawsuit alleged that only four of the eight counties had the required number of signatures which sparked a rebuttal from the sports betting advocates.
But it was all for naught, as a Cole County judge ruled that the signatures were counted according to the law and all proper protocols were followed, which proved to be a great sigh of relief to stakeholders and those who want sports betting in the Show Me State.
“Today’s ruling, while expected, is nevertheless a big victory for Missourians, who overwhelmingly want to join the 38 other states that allow sports betting, so that we can provide tens of millions of permanent, dedicated funding each year to our public schools,” read a statement from Jack Cardetti, spokesperson for Winning for Missouri Education, the coalition behind the campaign for the ballot measure.
“For too many years, Missourians have watched as fans cross state lines to place sports bets, which deprives our Missouri public schools of much-needed funding. A vote for Amendment 2 in November will bring those dollars back to Missouri classrooms.”
Sports Betting Benefits Education
It has taken years for Missouri’s sports betting advocates to get this close to the finish line. Despite several attempts to get it approved in the state legislature, those efforts failed due to an intractable faction, led by Denny Hoskins, that demanded any sports betting legislation had to also include legalizing video lottery terminals, also known as gray machines.
But as repeated attempts to bring sports betting to the Show Me State consistently failed, the professional sports franchises decided to take another route. Instead of relying on the legislators, the state’s six pro franchises including the Cardinals, Royals, Chiefs, Blues, Current, and City FC decided to embark on a ballot initiative using their newly formed political action committee, Winning for Missouri Education.
The PAC’s primary purpose was to collect at least 170,000 verified signatures from Missouri voters and deliver them to the Secretary of State’s office by the deadline in May. The committee was able to collect more than double that number and in August, the Secretary of State’s office validated the signatures and thereby approved the referendum for November’s ballot question.
However, the battle has not been won just yet. Missourians will have to approve the measure by a simple majority and polls show that the question is a tossup in the minds of the voters. However, top-rated sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings have donated a combined $10 million to the effort.
Therefore, it’s a guarantee there will be plenty of advertising extolling the benefits of legalizing sports betting between now and then, with the emphasis on 10% of the sportsbooks’ profits being collected by the state and earmarked for public education.
“Now that we are officially on the ballot we’ll be over the next two and a half months talking to Missourians across the state about why it makes sense to set up a legal sports betting framework that helps public education,” said campaign spokesman Jack Cardetti.
